The solo guitar coming out of the Chorus is a bit loud as compared to the voice when it comes back in.

Every so often, I hear a frequency in your vox reverb (guessing it's a plate) that is a bit piercing. It's not exaggerated, but it definitely adds a pressure to the vocals that can edge on the verge of harsh for a hard syllable.

Technically, those are what I had issue with.

The only other thing is a question of movement. So, let's go with my issue for the guitar as an example. My first reaction (if I were talking to myself, which happens more frequently than I would like to admit) would be to go to the guitar part, and automate it down. The motion of the song feels a little stagnant, so rather than doing that, I may make the opposite move. I might bring the bass and the drums up where the guitar part comes in, then bring it all back down to fit the verse levels that you had set.

That may be a really wordy way for me to say that I think you have a really technically correct mix, but it could possibly be improved emotionally with a little bit more section dynamics manipulation.

Bass: a bit too loud in the start, but it seems like it sits better in the mix after a while. Perhaps some balancing in the start would be wise.

Kick: Seems like it's masked by the bass. Have you tried to side-chain it to the bass, so it can poke through better, perhaps some 8 kHz too?

Vocal: Your vocal is natural sounding, perhaps you could highpass it slightly to get rid of the proximity effect here and there? Some de-essing would also lift the quality.
However I really like that it's easy to pick out the lyrics in your mix. Good job! That's something I have to work more with my own mix.

Whisling: 2-2.5 dB down probably would suit your mix, it's a little too loud when it enters I think, some rebalancing would probably make it sit better in the mix.

My main feedback is about depth: Everything is very upfront. Could you let a few things get the front stage, some in the middle and some in the back? I think that probably would open up your mix and let it breathe better.

Is there some distortion @ 2:42, the sound in your mix seems a little distorted/clipped, or perhaps the hihat is a little harsh sounding here?

Thanks for sharing your mix!

The only thing which worries me about your assessment is the distortion statement. I've listened back on various systems and headphones and I'm not hearing that. I've heard the reference to the whistles from several participants and it may need to be addressed. Thank you for your time and input.

Hi again, I've listened closely several times and I think it might not be distortion, but a build up of harsh frequencies for ca. 4 seconds - sorry for giving you worries.

I imported your mix into Reaper and looped the section 2:40-2:44 and used TDR Nova EQ with HP @ 771 and LP @ 4.2 kHz - your mix is rather harsh in this area, and would probably benefit from a dip here, I reckon.

The vocal reverb is more audible in the verses than I'd instinctively have had it, but I think it works on its own terms given the generally chilled vibe.

There are some extreme-HF transients that seem a little 'spitty' for want of a better word, although it's a little difficult to work out where they're coming from! I'm guessing stick noise from the overheads, or edit clicks on the conga/timbale/bass tracks, or maybe even rhythm-guitar picking? Not sure, but it's a little distracting for me, especially when turning up the volume -- which your mix makes me want to!

Love the warmth and understated nature of the bass, although I wonder whether the midrange could come through a touch more on small speakers.

I like the mix effects, which are adding an appealing wetness without washing things out -- I get the impression that delays are as much responsible for this as reverbs, which would make sense if the case.

Both solo guitars feel like they could be more controlled dynamically. Either I'm getting notes poking out too far, for instance in the Intro, or I'm losing nice details of the musical line, as in the second verse. I wonder a similar thing about the whistling in the outro, which feels a bit overbearing on some notes, but not others.

I wonder whether the side-stick and snare could both be a bit more prominent -- particularly in the Reintro, where the snare feels underpowered in the groove to me. It also makes fills like the one at the end of Verse 3 less dramatic.

I like the shimmering Hammond -- a lovely character, and yet the vocal remains well upfront despite it.

Hope some of those suggestions are of any use -- thanks for submitting your mix!

Also, I'd like to add a special extra note of appreciation for all the fabulous mix feedback you've been providing for other Discussion Zone users. You're a gent, and it's a shining example of the kind of attitude that makes this forum such a special place for learning about mixing. More power to your keyboard!

(16-01-2019 01:43 PM)Mike Senior Wrote: Also, I'd like to add a special extra note of appreciation for all the fabulous mix feedback you've been providing for other Discussion Zone users. You're a gent, and it's a shining example of the kind of attitude that makes this forum such a special place for learning about mixing. More power to your keyboard!

It sounds pretty good. It feels a little "light" to me. On first listen I thought it might want more bass or lower mids. As I listened the second time the bass felt right and realized it's some of the presence that sticks out. Namely on Guitar 1. The mic that's on the right (mic 3?) is a little bright and buzzy and takes away from the warmth of the rest of the mix.
I occasionally lose the bass guitar in the choruses and miss the support that it provides.

That's everything that jumped out at me that hasn't been mentioned already.
Good job.

I only have earbuds to listen and mix with at the moment. Take everything I say with a grain of salt.

The vocal reverb is more audible in the verses than I'd instinctively have had it, but I think it works on its own terms given the generally chilled vibe.The reverb I established is part of the glue binding my mix together and is reverse engineered from the space at the end of the Mid-section (bridge). It is essential to the vibe and the mix. I am happy you find it appealing.

There are some extreme-HF transients that seem a little 'spitty' for want of a better word, although it's a little difficult to work out where they're coming from! I'm guessing stick noise from the overheads, or edit clicks on the conga/timbale/bass tracks, or maybe even rhythm-guitar picking? Not sure, but it's a little distracting for me, especially when turning up the volume -- which your mix makes me want to! It appears my buffer settings were set too low resulting in these artifacts. After your alert and great trepidation I was able to find them. I must have attributed those to other transients prior to that. My bad! The earlier setting did not result in artifacts in all tracks; only some, which made it more difficult to debug. This has been addressed and will appear in my adjusted mix.

Love the warmth and understated nature of the bass, although I wonder whether the midrange could come through a touch more on small speakers.Listening to the bass (or lack thereof) on my Android phone, is a common issue. I have tried to address this and it will appear in the adjusted mix.

I like the mix effects, which are adding an appealing wetness without washing things out -- I get the impression that delays are as much responsible for this as reverbs, which would make sense if the case.Correct, you are! Besides the general reverb there is a beat delay with a short decay on it for the lead guitars. Another trick I employed was to pan the reverb sends from the guitars which helped the environment significantly, especially in relation to the un-panned delay locations.

Both solo guitars feel like they could be more controlled dynamically. Either I'm getting notes poking out too far, for instance in the Intro, or I'm losing nice details of the musical line, as in the second verse. I wonder a similar thing about the whistling in the outro, which feels a bit overbearing on some notes, but not others.This has been addressed and will appear in the adjusted mix through additional automation.

I wonder whether the side-stick and snare could both be a bit more prominent -- particularly in the Reintro, where the snare feels underpowered in the groove to me. It also makes fills like the one at the end of Verse 3 less dramatic.The side stick (and the snare in general) is a combination of the close-miking and the overheads. In the adjusted mix I have addressed this mainly by a small bump in the mid-range in the overheads only.

I like the shimmering Hammond -- a lovely character, and yet the vocal remains well upfront despite it.Thank you. I did nothing but add reverb to the Hammond in a full left-right spread. In your mix notes you had highlighted the difference between the organ parts at different locations in the song. I used these as a cue to the intent of the songwriter.

Hope some of those suggestions are of any use -- thanks for submitting your mix!

Also, I'd like to add a special extra note of appreciation for all the fabulous mix feedback you've been providing for other Discussion Zone users. You're a gent, and it's a shining example of the kind of attitude that makes this forum such a special place for learning about mixing. More power to your keyboard!

Just my way of giving back to this great forum. It feeds my soul

I am going to hold on to my adjusted mix for a while so I can put fresh ears on it day-after-day. I will announce the new mix in the title of my post.

Thank you, MS for your excellent input and the input others have suggested as well.

I am listening to the version as of January 19th and it sounds really solid - nice ! Interesting reference choice with Tracy Chapman - never would have thought of that, yet when I read it, I could totally see where you were coming from. Just a couple of perceptions I can offer you in the realm of subjective so you can take them or leave them.

- while listening to the verses, I sometimes found myself listening to guitar1 vs. the vocal. Made me think it was perhaps a tiny bit too loud, or the vocal needed to come up a bit.
- congas and high end - same observation - I felt they occasionally poked through to demand attention vs. the vocal
- BVs perhaps a touch loud vs the lead

I am listening to the version as of January 19th and it sounds really solid - nice ! Interesting reference choice with Tracy Chapman - never would have thought of that, yet when I read it, I could totally see where you were coming from. Just a couple of perceptions I can offer you in the realm of subjective so you can take them or leave them.

- while listening to the verses, I sometimes found myself listening to guitar1 vs. the vocal. Made me think it was perhaps a tiny bit too loud, or the vocal needed to come up a bit.
- congas and high end - same observation - I felt they occasionally poked through to demand attention vs. the vocal
- BVs perhaps a touch loud vs the lead

Sounded great overall - liked the vibe !

Thomas

All valid observations. Thanks for the listen. Check back later for a modified version for the competition.